744.9.
Did the extra two miles last night on the King Road route. Great-GrandBoss saw me preparing to leave at 3:30 - hope he understands that I often get here before 7 and often don't do lunch.
TGIF. Have done good work this week.
Newt/salamander in the garage this morning -- maybe he's keeping warmer there than outdoors. Nice sunrise, chilly air. Wanted to stop and take pictures, but only took one. Need a holster or something for the camera. Like in a car, you might catch a glimpse of something and stop, and half the time when you get back to it it's not as great as you originally thought.
Last night, visited a caterer we liked and, I think, locked 'em in for the wedding reception party 5/19. Extraordinary salad, with walnuts, mandarin orange, and ah... a bunch of other stuff. Chicken with salsa. Filet Mignon for our carnivorous friends. Will also have vege/vegan stuff, but really, that's like 2% of attendees, so not we're gonna weigh it towards them more than 10%. The perceived quality of the caterers may be more important than the quality of the food...? Well, if you're in Marin/Sonoma, and have a wedding coming up, you might want to check out Forks and Fingers catering. Or you might want to check back here around 5/22 or so; if there are any problems, they'll be documented.
Dinosaur (2000):
Oh man, I don't know. Technology has enabled us to see things on film that would've been impossible like 10 minutes ago, but it's the same old story of an individual's quest for safety, belonging, and freedom, and the (sanitized, bloodless) trials-by-fire he must endure--all reduced to soft, gummable chunks for consumption by toothless two-year-olds. The human parts are played by animated dinosaurs, who in turn are voiced by humans. Especially annoying is how, even in fantasy dinosaur land, there's the stereotypical comic-relief, overweight-and-slow-moving-but-full-of-common-sensical-folksy-wisdom triceratops played by Della Reese (I guess Whoopi was already booked for another comic sidekick voice role - and suggest you miss THAT movie too). C'MON moviemakers, there are more than three types of black people in the world! Tagline: "You have never seen anything like this." Actually, I have. This is the same plot and cast of characters you've seen 500 times (if you've watched 600 movies). The ONLY things this movie has going for it are the background scenery and lack of singing. Really. Go see Toy Story or Chicken Run again instead.
If only the advanced technology of today could somehow be applied to the story line and dialog... sigh. This movie makes me wish that they still had to draw 'em frame by frame.
IMDB fans rate it 6.5 out of 10, but they are high.
Friday, March 09, 2001
Thursday, March 08, 2001
736.1.
Very foggy; again, why I got lights. Allowed the headlight to burn out over the last couple of weeks so I could give it a full charge. My mechanical ineptitude is well-documented. I don't really understand these batteries, and got somewhat conflicting info in the instructions (how do you drive a technical writer crazy?).
I really wish cars would move at least a little bit into the oncoming lane (when no traffic is actually oncoming) to pass me. If nothing else, it shows that they see me. It would be so easy to hit something unexpected on the shoulder and swerve/fall out into the driving lane... When I'm driving (even before I started biking regularly) I consider this when passing peds or cyclists or horses - give at least their full height in lateral room to fall.
Great Egret in one of the fields on Skillman - they're very beautiful birds, and large, yet they have a certain lack of grace that is comical, and when you see one "outstanding in his field," he's usually looking to scare up a meal, with that hunched-over, undertakerish look of a vulture.
Lessee, movies: last night, "The Contender" and "Meet the Parents."
The Contender: Jeff Bridges sleeping through a(nother?) presidential performance, and Gary Oldman typically excellent (and difficult to identify). Joan Allen playing a senator with almost-impossible integrity, nominated for Vice President, when an indiscretion from her past causes problems. Good cast, engaging enough story. It could happen here, but I don't suppose it would play out like this.
Meet the Parents: Funny, the kind of slapstick where you're slightly embarrassed to be laughing out loud at Ben Stiller's misfortune, but Stiller has a face that's just MADE for misfortune, and there are some moments where just the deadpan face shot is enough to make me burst out laughing.
Very foggy; again, why I got lights. Allowed the headlight to burn out over the last couple of weeks so I could give it a full charge. My mechanical ineptitude is well-documented. I don't really understand these batteries, and got somewhat conflicting info in the instructions (how do you drive a technical writer crazy?).
I really wish cars would move at least a little bit into the oncoming lane (when no traffic is actually oncoming) to pass me. If nothing else, it shows that they see me. It would be so easy to hit something unexpected on the shoulder and swerve/fall out into the driving lane... When I'm driving (even before I started biking regularly) I consider this when passing peds or cyclists or horses - give at least their full height in lateral room to fall.
Great Egret in one of the fields on Skillman - they're very beautiful birds, and large, yet they have a certain lack of grace that is comical, and when you see one "outstanding in his field," he's usually looking to scare up a meal, with that hunched-over, undertakerish look of a vulture.
Lessee, movies: last night, "The Contender" and "Meet the Parents."
The Contender: Jeff Bridges sleeping through a(nother?) presidential performance, and Gary Oldman typically excellent (and difficult to identify). Joan Allen playing a senator with almost-impossible integrity, nominated for Vice President, when an indiscretion from her past causes problems. Good cast, engaging enough story. It could happen here, but I don't suppose it would play out like this.
Meet the Parents: Funny, the kind of slapstick where you're slightly embarrassed to be laughing out loud at Ben Stiller's misfortune, but Stiller has a face that's just MADE for misfortune, and there are some moments where just the deadpan face shot is enough to make me burst out laughing.
Wednesday, March 07, 2001
727.1.
Beautiful morning, just perfect. The bike ride does a lot for me.
Those who may read this... may think it's pretty lame to base a blog on bike riding when it's only like 8 miles per day, when "serious" cyclists may do 100 or more miles in a given day. And why it's "Road Rash" when people like Johnny Knoxville do road rash infinitely better than I ever could or would (and indeed, I have yet to take a fall, knock wood). I guess it's more a journal than a bike-riding thing, but the bike-riding definitely drives it. "Road Rash" just came to mind when I created it; I might've come up with something more clever and more germane, but there it is. I've been wanting for some time to catalog some of the movies I watch, so I get to do that too.
Today's ride was about enjoying the view, and about taking out a little bit of anger (on the uphills).
Peach-colored cloud layer above a strip of blue sky above low-lying tule fog, layers of my morning parfait (that's french, and something of a pun). The cattle on Skillman watch me cruise by... Up the Fair Ave hill in 2-5 gear has become my morning sweat-breaker. Right after this hill, there's a pretty deep down-and-up that gives a very brief respite from pedalling before requiring all I've got to power up the other side in 3-8 (sometimes clicking down to 2-8, 2-5, at the very top if I don't get enough momentum). These are the only real hills on my short route. When Fair turns onto Bailey, that's a nice long 20mph downhill to Petaluma Blvd and the traffic.
No 10% loan. I am a bad credit risk, though I have no debts and a relatively large disposable income each month after rent & expenses. I want a fun new truck, with power and payload, but after more thought, I REALLY don't want to pay 33% interest to get there. Granted, if I pay early, that 33% goes down significantly. But it could be that if I save more money while driving for free in the Mustang (and the bike!) for a few months, I can do a lot better and get an '01 model when they're clearing them for the '02s, with a hefty down payment as well, and not find myself beholden for the next 5, 6 years of my life. I'm happier and happier about this decision as I spend more time NOT in debt...
Big work project will be starting soon, and I'm actually pretty excited about it (but farbeit from ME to ever show it!).
Now, your daily IMDB-linked movie. "Damn Yankees!" last night. Not really up my alley, but hoo-ha, that Gwen Verdon , who died last year, is stunning as "Lola." I now understand the popularity of that "Whatever Lola Wants" song, as she sang and danced it in the movie. She was funny, sweet, goofy, and sexy in that sequence, and in the movie as a whole, about the only high point for me. Ray Walston (who died 1/1/ THIS year) is about one spiral-cut away from full-on Shatner ham (but hey, some good quotes at the IMDB link above - I'd better get him into "Born Today"). Tab Hunter (not dead, but going on 70 years old) has a few moments (the heavy-drinking scene is pretty remarkable), and is pretty convincing as a naive, stupid, aw-shucks ballplayer, but overall I can't tell how much of THAT is acting.
Beautiful morning, just perfect. The bike ride does a lot for me.
Those who may read this... may think it's pretty lame to base a blog on bike riding when it's only like 8 miles per day, when "serious" cyclists may do 100 or more miles in a given day. And why it's "Road Rash" when people like Johnny Knoxville do road rash infinitely better than I ever could or would (and indeed, I have yet to take a fall, knock wood). I guess it's more a journal than a bike-riding thing, but the bike-riding definitely drives it. "Road Rash" just came to mind when I created it; I might've come up with something more clever and more germane, but there it is. I've been wanting for some time to catalog some of the movies I watch, so I get to do that too.
Today's ride was about enjoying the view, and about taking out a little bit of anger (on the uphills).
Peach-colored cloud layer above a strip of blue sky above low-lying tule fog, layers of my morning parfait (that's french, and something of a pun). The cattle on Skillman watch me cruise by... Up the Fair Ave hill in 2-5 gear has become my morning sweat-breaker. Right after this hill, there's a pretty deep down-and-up that gives a very brief respite from pedalling before requiring all I've got to power up the other side in 3-8 (sometimes clicking down to 2-8, 2-5, at the very top if I don't get enough momentum). These are the only real hills on my short route. When Fair turns onto Bailey, that's a nice long 20mph downhill to Petaluma Blvd and the traffic.
No 10% loan. I am a bad credit risk, though I have no debts and a relatively large disposable income each month after rent & expenses. I want a fun new truck, with power and payload, but after more thought, I REALLY don't want to pay 33% interest to get there. Granted, if I pay early, that 33% goes down significantly. But it could be that if I save more money while driving for free in the Mustang (and the bike!) for a few months, I can do a lot better and get an '01 model when they're clearing them for the '02s, with a hefty down payment as well, and not find myself beholden for the next 5, 6 years of my life. I'm happier and happier about this decision as I spend more time NOT in debt...
Big work project will be starting soon, and I'm actually pretty excited about it (but farbeit from ME to ever show it!).
Now, your daily IMDB-linked movie. "Damn Yankees!" last night. Not really up my alley, but hoo-ha, that Gwen Verdon , who died last year, is stunning as "Lola." I now understand the popularity of that "Whatever Lola Wants" song, as she sang and danced it in the movie. She was funny, sweet, goofy, and sexy in that sequence, and in the movie as a whole, about the only high point for me. Ray Walston (who died 1/1/ THIS year) is about one spiral-cut away from full-on Shatner ham (but hey, some good quotes at the IMDB link above - I'd better get him into "Born Today"). Tab Hunter (not dead, but going on 70 years old) has a few moments (the heavy-drinking scene is pretty remarkable), and is pretty convincing as a naive, stupid, aw-shucks ballplayer, but overall I can't tell how much of THAT is acting.
Tuesday, March 06, 2001
719.6.
Drove yesterday to do some errands, and it was raining pretty much all day anyway.
I hate these times when I skip the bike ride on a friday or monday (and the weekend between); it seems like I can almost feel the loss of physical strength (not to mention wind).
Nurse Betty. A likeable movie - give it 4 or 5 out of 10. But Renee Zelweiger gives me the creeps. Now I can't remember the name of the other... Waking the Dead. Also a decent enough film, but really a little melodramatic, and the actors (Billy Crudup and the Ali-McGraw-ish Jennifer Connelly) didn't really carry it off. Nothing worse than watching a couple of actors "weeping their eyes out" and being almost entirely unaffected!
Overdressed for biking today - cloudy out, but I don't think it's actually going to rain. So I could've packed the rainjacket in, and probably will pack it out. Lots of wind in the weekend storms - lots of debris on the road, especially on the shoulder where I ride...
Test drove three very different cars Saturday: Dodge Dakota 4x4, Nissan XTerra, and Toyota RAV4. All three were suitable to a particular niche, I suppose.
Liked the Dodge quite a bit, except that the bench seat was not very comfortable for a long ride (which is what I hope to do most with this vehicle). Low front of roof had us leaning forward to peer out - definitely want a sunroof (and don't really need the overhead console). It feels really solid. Part-time 4WD seems like a good idea. 4.7L V-8 very nice, and "4WD-Lo" gave a really powerful feeling.
The XTerra was pretty cool, but the salesman who took us out seemed to get nervous suddenly and claimed to need to get back to the showroom because they were short-handed. Excuse me, but if I'm going to spend 20k on a vehicle, a 20-minute drive ain't gonna sell it to me. There was a clunk when we came to a stop sometimes - may be something normal with full-time 4WD.
Toyota dealer claimed there were no 5-speed RAV4s available (there's one in the parking lot here at work, bought nearby in San Rafael), and we ended up driving a 4-cylinder 2WD automatic - a car we had no interest in buying. With rear window down, HUGE amount of wind-buffeting noise on that car. The XTerra is cool, but I got a lot better feeling from the Dakota.
Dodge dealer from Oakland calling me last night. All I want is a freakin' quote, and I specifically note "please no calls" on every internet form where I have the choice, and I have spent time selecting the options I want on a web page, and still these guys call. His quote was over 25k, with the SLT package.
And we have the "Sport" package and the "XL" and the "SE" and the "SOB" with wildly-varying prices for each, and different stories about what the package actually contains... Makes it (intentionally) difficult to compare two similar cars.
Oh well. Waiting on a potential better (like, 4% better!) APR loan offer from the local credit union, but do have preapproved loan in hand at 14%.
Drove yesterday to do some errands, and it was raining pretty much all day anyway.
I hate these times when I skip the bike ride on a friday or monday (and the weekend between); it seems like I can almost feel the loss of physical strength (not to mention wind).
Nurse Betty. A likeable movie - give it 4 or 5 out of 10. But Renee Zelweiger gives me the creeps. Now I can't remember the name of the other... Waking the Dead. Also a decent enough film, but really a little melodramatic, and the actors (Billy Crudup and the Ali-McGraw-ish Jennifer Connelly) didn't really carry it off. Nothing worse than watching a couple of actors "weeping their eyes out" and being almost entirely unaffected!
Overdressed for biking today - cloudy out, but I don't think it's actually going to rain. So I could've packed the rainjacket in, and probably will pack it out. Lots of wind in the weekend storms - lots of debris on the road, especially on the shoulder where I ride...
Test drove three very different cars Saturday: Dodge Dakota 4x4, Nissan XTerra, and Toyota RAV4. All three were suitable to a particular niche, I suppose.
Liked the Dodge quite a bit, except that the bench seat was not very comfortable for a long ride (which is what I hope to do most with this vehicle). Low front of roof had us leaning forward to peer out - definitely want a sunroof (and don't really need the overhead console). It feels really solid. Part-time 4WD seems like a good idea. 4.7L V-8 very nice, and "4WD-Lo" gave a really powerful feeling.
The XTerra was pretty cool, but the salesman who took us out seemed to get nervous suddenly and claimed to need to get back to the showroom because they were short-handed. Excuse me, but if I'm going to spend 20k on a vehicle, a 20-minute drive ain't gonna sell it to me. There was a clunk when we came to a stop sometimes - may be something normal with full-time 4WD.
Toyota dealer claimed there were no 5-speed RAV4s available (there's one in the parking lot here at work, bought nearby in San Rafael), and we ended up driving a 4-cylinder 2WD automatic - a car we had no interest in buying. With rear window down, HUGE amount of wind-buffeting noise on that car. The XTerra is cool, but I got a lot better feeling from the Dakota.
Dodge dealer from Oakland calling me last night. All I want is a freakin' quote, and I specifically note "please no calls" on every internet form where I have the choice, and I have spent time selecting the options I want on a web page, and still these guys call. His quote was over 25k, with the SLT package.
And we have the "Sport" package and the "XL" and the "SE" and the "SOB" with wildly-varying prices for each, and different stories about what the package actually contains... Makes it (intentionally) difficult to compare two similar cars.
Oh well. Waiting on a potential better (like, 4% better!) APR loan offer from the local credit union, but do have preapproved loan in hand at 14%.
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